I agree with most everything economist Tyler Cowen said in his insightful New York Times op ed about autonomous vehicles. This technology holds tremendous promise in enhancing passenger safety, efficiency, and mobility. (See also Sebastian Thrun’s March 31 TED talk). I also agree that law and policy may act, as Cowen suggests, to impede innovation and adoption of driverless cars. But Cowen’s assertion that the driverless car “is illegal in all 50 states,” which he reasserts and defends in a recent blog post, represents a serious overstatement. And, in a way, an ironic one: the public assertion that driverless cars are illegal could be almost as chilling to potential innovators and consumers as passing laws against this technology. Read more » about On The Legality Of Driverless Vehicles: A Response To Tyler Cowen

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Ryan Calo appears in the 100th episode of the podcast Surprisingly Free, which celebrates with "a selection of some of the best clips from our last 99 shows, featuring some incredible thinkers and doers at the intersection of technology, policy and economics." Read more » about The 100th Episode